Introduction: Last year, Megabass surprised consumers with their take on an "entry level" rod series. By all accounts, the Orochi Double X series of rods have been a success and are introducing an entirely new audience to the Megabass experience. Naturally the enthusiasts were less than that. This year, dedicated fans who've been bemoaning the "sell out" of one of their favorite manufacturers get their wish - a return to high end with the brand new Destroyer X7 - a top of the line series featuring a new Coreinplex X-7 Graphite. Here's a look at the lineup!

Dissatisfied with the direction Megebass has taken over the last several years with the "affordable" Orochi X4 and Double X lineups?

Destroyer X7:
Destroyer is the bread and butter rod lineup for Megabass. Orochi may have been getting the majority of attention recently with the X4 and Double X lineups, and Evoluzion may be thought of as more exotic, but Destroyer is where the complete range of actions and powers can be found and all with that exotic Megabass flair. In fact, several years ago each rod in the base destroyer line each had their own unique handle design and cosmetics.

With Destroyer X7 Megabass's returns their attention to flagship
lines.

Several years ago when Destroyer was in the "THP" phase, Megabass
homogenized all the handle designs and Destroyer slowly became less relevant. Post THP, the lineup has returned to its rightful exotic stature, but it's been lost in a bit of obscurity to the more approachable, and affordable Orochi X4 and Orochi XX lineup of rods.

If there's one thing the Megabass camp has down, it is refined cosmetics.

The new X7 brings the focus back on the Destroyer name, but in a very unexpected way - X7 is a new flagship line of rods for Megabass running almost
parallel with the Evoluzion series in terms of MSRP.

Destroyer X7 rods will feature the typical high end components to which you're accustomed.

The difference between X7 and Evoluzion is the X7 rods do not contain any exotic metals in their blanks. Instead, the X7 rods feature a new, very durable carbon cross weave wrap over the entire length of the rod's blank. This wrap is provided for both strength and durability.

Zander tempts fate.

Yuskei Murayama, VP of Megabass of America, tells us their founder and CEO, Yuki Ito likes to demonstrate the durability of these sticks by sawing a notch into the side of a wood table top with a finished rod. Unfortunately,
there were no wooden table tops on hand at ICAST for Mr. Murayama to duplicate this demo for us.

Aaron Martens discusses the eccentric first guide on one of the rods.

Megabass's Destroyer X7 lineup will be made up of seven rods all casting models. They will range from light powered rods (F2) up through extra heavy (F7) and range in lengths from six foot three inches (6'3") on up through seven feet ten inches (7'10"). Retail pricing in North America has not quite been decided upon but we're told it will range between $600 - $700 depending on the rod model.

Casting Rod Specifications

Model

Applications

Length

Lure

Line

MSRP

F2-63X7 Super Cliffhanger

Bait Finesse

6'3"

1/8-1/2 oz

6-12lb

TBD

F2 1/2-66X7 The Shading-X

Small Plugs/Jerkbaits

6'6"

1/8-1/2oz

6-12lb

TBD

F3-69X7 Super Eiger

Bait Finesse

6'9"

1/8-1/2oz

6-14lb

TBD

F4-68X7 Cyclone Advantage

Multi-Purpose

6'8"

1/4-3/4oz

8-20lb

TBD

F4-611X7 Super Elseil

Multi-Purpose

6'8"

1/4-3/4oz

8-20lb

TBD

F4-76X7 Western Flip

Finesse Flipping

7'6"

1/4-3/4oz

8-20lb

TBD

F5st-611X7 Bearingdown Type X

Texas Rigs/Jigs

6'11"

3/8-1oz

10-25lb

TBD

F5 1/2-70X7 Diablo Fastmove

Moving Baits

7'0"

3/8-1 1/2oz

12-25lb

TBD

F5-75X7 Extreme Mission

Unweighted Worms / Swim Jigs

7'5"

3/8-1oz

12-25lb

TBD

F6-68X7 Super Rekkai

Heavy Cover Soft Plastics & Jigs

6'8"

3/8-1 1/2oz

12-25

TBD

F7-71X7 Aaron Martens 71

Frogs, Jigs, Heavy Cover Punching

7'1"

3/8-2 oz

12-30lb

TBD

FX-710X7 The Destruction

Heavy Power Multi Purpose

7'10"

3/8-2 oz

12-30lb

TBD

It's a race to see who will get to fish the X7 first... A.Martens or Cal.

Conclusion: Fans of Megabass's exotic sticks, dissatisfied with the entry level feel of the Orochi X4 and Double X line and wanting more versatility out of the heavy hitting Black Jungle series of rods now have a new series of rods to feed their
appetites. Destroyer X7 is the answer to what they've been clamoring and that's for a high end series of rods with a no-nonsense, high performing blank. Yes, Megabass has not forgotten how to do high end. Stay tuned for a more detailed look into the entire series after we're finished with our ICAST coverage.